An 88-year-old lawmaker described in a police report as suffering from “early stages of dementia” has just ended a 35-year political career that no one in her own party wanted to continue.
Story Overview
- Eleanor Holmes Norton filed an end-of-campaign report on January 25, 2026, ending her bid for re-election after 18 terms representing DC.
- An internal police report from an October 2025 fraud investigation documented Norton in the “early stages of dementia” with an assistant holding power of attorney.
- The campaign raised just $7.50 in January 2026 while being $90,000 in debt as prominent Democrats publicly called for his retirement.
- Norton’s absence during the Trump administration’s 2025 federal interventions in Washington left the district without effective representation at a critical time.
- Seven challengers are now competing in the June 2026 Democratic primary to succeed her as a non-voting delegate to the D.C. House of Representatives.
When leadership becomes a liability
Eleanor Holmes Norton’s staff has regularly retracted her public statements to reporters. His office released written responses while avoiding interviews and joint appearances. The trend became so pronounced that even colleagues noticed it. When D.C. most needed its House delegate during the federal police takeovers and National Guard deployments in the summer of 2025, Norton was functionally absent. She made statements, but statements do not stop constitutional crises. The woman who spent decades fighting for Washington’s autonomy couldn’t defend him when the threats materialized. The cruel irony writes itself: a civil rights warrior sidelined while the federal authority trampled on the local autonomy she had defended since 1990.
Following police report describing ‘early stages of dementia,’ Democrat Eleanor Holmes Norton, 88, signals she will not seek re-election as a D.C. delegate
– Major Anthony Jones (@majorbrainpain) January 26, 2026
The police report that no one wanted to make public
October 2025 brought the revelation that everyone suspected but few recognized. Norton was defrauded, sparking a police investigation that documented what insiders already knew. The internal report described her as being in the “early stages of dementia,” with a longtime assistant serving as a caretaker and holding power of attorney. The findings never received official recognition from his office, which continued the charade. In June 2025, Norton declared his intention to run for re-election. The staff immediately denied that she had made a final decision. On September 4, 2025, the official announcement took place. In mid-January 2026, she reaffirmed her plans. Three weeks later, the campaign filed termination paperwork with the Federal Election Commission.
When your own party shows you the door
Donna Brazile, Norton’s former top aide, publicly called for retirement. Rep. Jamie Raskin suggested DC needs “a new generation” of leadership. These were not Republican attacks or media speculation. The Democrats told one of their own that loyalty had limits. Norton’s campaign dysfunction tells the financial story: $7.50 raised in January 2026 versus $90,000 in debt. Seven challengers smelled blood, including D.C. council members Brooke Pinto and Robert White. The primary domain expanded because everyone recognized what Norton’s office didn’t want to admit: She couldn’t do the job anymore, and D.C. couldn’t afford to pretend under a Republican administration actively dismantling national self-governance.
The state champion who couldn’t defend her city
Norton’s legacy deserves to be recognized without the revisionist glosses his supporters now apply. She co-sponsored the Equality Act, marched in Pride parades and pushed for Washington statehood through votes in the House in 2020 and 2021 that were blocked elsewhere. She defended the DC College Act and fought for fiscal autonomy during the financial crisis of the 1990s. This Norton deserved respect. The 2025 version issued statements as Trump’s National Guard occupied his city and federal officials threatened to take control of the police. The DC delegate position exists precisely for times like these: when federal excesses threaten local governance. Norton held the title but was unable to fulfill his duties. DC residents deserved better than a figurehead managing decline.
Uncomfortable questions about cognitive decline
Norton’s situation forces a discussion that American politics desperately avoids: What happens when elected officials lose their cognitive functions but refuse to leave? The police report documenting early-stage dementia is from October 2025. Her staff managed her with power of attorney arrangements. Yet the re-election process continued until January 2026. Who actually made the decision to continue? Who benefits from retaining diminished civil servants? These are not abstract questions. D.C. faced existential threats to its autonomy while its sole representative in Congress operated under an interim agreement. The situation was not compassionate; it was exploitation. Norton deserved a dignified exit years ago, not a termination report filed by staff managing someone who is no longer capable of managing herself.
What comes next for DC representation
The June 2026 Democratic primary will determine Norton’s successor for the November general election, although in Washington that is largely a formality. No Republican presidential candidate has won more than 10 percent of the vote in Washington, DC since 1988. The Democratic primary is the election. Seven candidates bring a variety of experience, from board members to strategists to activists. The winner inherits immediate battles: countering Republican Congressional attacks on national autonomy, defending against Trump administration interventions, and reviving the stalled statehood movement. Norton’s absence from the 2025 federal incursions proved that the delegate position requires vigor, not nostalgia. DC needs a defender who can actually fight, not just reminisce about past fights while the staff handles daily tasks.
The Norton saga reveals what happens when political parties prioritize optics over effectiveness. Democrats knew of his condition, tolerated the dysfunction, and applied pressure only when media coverage made denial impossible. This is not honoring a legacy; it’s managing a liability. DC deserved to be represented during its constitutional crisis, not a figurehead with managers. The next delegate will face a Republican Congress and a Trump administration actively hostile to Washington DC’s autonomy. This fight requires someone present, capable and ruthless. Norton’s 35 years in office have merited gratitude, but gratitude does not excuse the poor service of overstaying. The request to fire his staff brought the leniency his party should have granted years earlier.
Sources:
Eleanor Holmes Norton will not seek re-election as a DC delegate – Politico
2026 United States House of Representatives election in the District of Columbia – Wikipedia
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton not running for re-election – Washington Informer
Eleanor Holmes Norton ends 2026 re-election campaign – Washington Blade
Eleanor Holmes Norton signals retirement from Congress – Axios
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